Bad Elements Series

By Lynn Mullican

“Live and breathe your darkest fears!”

Crystal Dragon (Bad Elements Book 1)

Crystal Bouchard awakens imprisoned in an underground cell with no recollection of how she got there and with no memory of her prior existence. Held against her will, her captors threaten to kill her son unless she fights to the death in the underground fighting circuit. Nicknamed “The Dragon,” she spends the next several years among werewolves and vampires.
During the course of searching for her son, she slowly begins to recollect her prior existence before her imprisonment, pushing her deeper within the fighting circuit.
***
Crystal Dragon – Reviews
“Bad Elements: Crystal Dragon takes your darkest fears, your primal desires, and your fondest hopes into the realm of vampires, werewolves, and hybrids, which will leave you breathless and begging for more. A definite MUST read!!!” – Lisa Randolph Truelove, Actress/Voiceover Artist

After the commentator announced Kara, the crowd chanted her name. Kara entered the arena. I had to admit, I stood in awe of the woman. She was at least a foot taller than me and exceptionally muscular. I looked like a midget compared to her. Her hair was straight, black, and shoulder length. She looked like she might have been on steroids.
I would have to get the upper hand early in the fight, then go low and take her down. As Kara and I faced off, our fans screamed.
Kara threw the first punch which I was able to dodge. I sidestepped her and caught her in the rib.
She groaned and doubled over.
I moved in, grabbed her by her hair and brought my knee up into her face.
That was when she wrapped her arms around me, and tried to take me to the ground.
Instead, I ran into the wall behind me. An uppercut rocked my head back, banging it against the wall. I groaned. I took a shot to the stomach before I was able to get her off of me.
While we fought, the fans slammed each other against the bars. The commentator made the announcement for the fight to stop. We glanced up at him.
Recognizing it was for the fans to stop, we returned to our business. I rushed her, going low for the legs, and slammed her into the barrier. Even though she struck the concrete wall, she was still able to elbow me in the middle of the back.
I yelped in pain. The riot started above us again. A corpse struck the bars. The snarls and growls escalated, catching our attention as they echoed throughout the arena. Kara and I glanced at each other and then at the chaos above. The bars had been bent.
Kara stood near the barrier, trying to focus in on the crowd. Blood poured out from the bars, drenching her from head to toe. She stared at me, wide-eyed, as if she knew the inevitable. My mouth fell open. Fear set deep inside me, and from this point on everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
Kara stood frozen in place. The bars moaned beneath the massive weight, continuing to bend in multiple areas behind the steel barrier. Fearful that the bars were going to split wide open, I took a couple of steps back, ready to run.
The bars exploded throughout the arena. I threw myself to the ground and covered my head. Steel echoed off of concrete walls, rebounding around me. Two of the bars struck me in the legs. They were heavy, but not heavy enough to seriously injure me.
I glanced behind me at Kara, who had fallen to the ground with a male corpse atop her. It had been torn to shreds. I gasped in horror. Blood soaked the dirt surrounding her and the body.
She barely managed to get the man off of her and stand up when several fans jumped into the arena. I pulled myself up, watching them circle Kara. Covered in blood and guts, she gave me the look which I recognized as defeat.
She was defenseless against the lot of them.
I took one step toward them and then halted in terror. She was shredded within seconds. They devoured her, some still feeding off of her while she fell to the ground. More fans followed the others into the pit, coming towards me. Their lips curled back, revealing their elongated fangs.
I backed up, recognizing the difference between their fangs and Wayne’s. At first, I thought they were werewolves too, but their flesh was white and their eyes darker.
Then I made the connection: they were vampires.
I turned and ran straight for the open concrete door behind me, my heart pounding in my chest. I never ran so fast in my life.
Wayne stood just on the inside of the gate and yelled at me to hurry. There was no sign of Alex. My guess was that he had booked it, for he was mortal like me. He needed time advantage.
Something grazed my back. I screamed. The tiny hairs on my neck stood up. I was no match for these creatures. They were closing in on me. Wayne lurched forward and pulled me to safety behind the wall, gate and door.
Some of the vampires got stuck in the small room that barricaded the corridor from the main arena. This didn’t stop them, though. They tore through the door, blowing it apart. Pieces of it flew in all directions, striking us and the walls. We ran down the corridor.
Vampires shrieked behind us, followed by unhinged metal and something heavy rebounding against the wall. Wayne and I had already passed the commentator and were coming up fast behind Alex.
The commentator screamed. I presumed the heavy object had been the door to his small office. Blood sprayed the wall next to me.
Wayne let go of me and pressed me onward, before transforming into his alternate form.
Two of the vampires jumped him while he was still in mid-transformation. He slammed them into the walls.
I screamed. He received several bites before he fully transformed. His massive body took up most of the corridor, blocking us from all of the vampires except one. I ran through the door to our right, after Alex. The one vampire who was now amongst us jumped Alex just on the other side of the door.
Alex swung the door shut and fought back. He was thrown to the ground, the vampire atop him. I jumped on the vampire’s back, wrapping my arm around its neck. The door broke into pieces around us. Wayne stormed in, still in wolf form, and bared his teeth. The creature threw me off of its back. I struck the wall behind me, my head rebounding off of it. The vampire glared at me. I thought for sure I was dead.
Wayne ran full stride at the vampire. His claws echoed off the concrete floor and drove him into a wall. Alex jumped to his feet, threw open another door, and pushed me into the dark room. Screams and other noises which I associated with being mauled escalated in the room behind us.
As we ran into the room, Alex flipped on the light switch. Wayne mutated into his human form and ran into the room after us. He slammed the door shut, separating us from the vampires.

“When Death comes for you, fight back with all that you have!”

Blood for Blood (Bad Elements Book 2)

Crystal Bouchard AKA Crystal Dragon is re-united with her family after spending five years imprisoned as an underground fighter for the vampire/werewolf community. As her familial ties are woven, Crystal’s prior kidnapper, vampire Jace “J.T.” Templeton and his henchmen seek revenge on her, forcing her to make a decision that could kill her and her family. Only this time she brings a new breed to the fight.
***
Blood for Blood – Reviews
“This is a genuine pleasure to read no matter what genre you generally prefer. At times it reminded me of the ’30 Days of Night’ series by Steve Niles with the intricacy of vampiric story-telling. Nevertheless, Lynn has also managed to balance that with a heartfelt story of a family, reminiscent of the ‘Ender’s Game’ series by Orson Scott Card or Tobe Hooper’s ‘Poltergeist’. That makes the action all the more deeply impactful in that the characters are people and not just plot devices. There are elements of mystery as well with the shrouded past of the main character. I usually pride myself in being able to figure out the ending about halfway through. I must confess, with this story, I was not able to, but I had so much fun reading it that I didn’t mind and when it finally came to light, I was very pleased. The surprise at the end gave me chills and made me want to read more!” – Paul Loh, Author of The Greater Number

“This is the series for anyone looking for their next Twilight or Hunger Games. Author Lynn Mullican nails it with a fantasy novel involving classic creatures and a gripping story! Not to be missed!”—Michael S. Fields, Author: Spirits of the Darkness/The Blackwood Conspiracy
***

In a heartbeat, they were both on me, throwing me backwards off of the chair, slamming us all down to the floor. Although I landed with a thud, one of their hands cradled my head so my skull wouldn’t crack open on the hardwood floor. They pinned me down, each on half of my body, with a leg in between mine. I tried to fight back but was powerless against them.
I started to scream when one of each of their hands grabbed and pushed my head backwards to angle my neck towards their mouths, forcing mine shut. I hissed through my teeth. The piercing of their fangs slid into my skin. Blood oozed from the bite marks that now scarred my flesh. The tension of my muscles made it that much worse. My muscles strained against their strength and power. I trembled beneath them. I could actually sense the blood draining from my body. It was as if somebody had hooked up a water hose. It sucked the life out of me. I fought to keep my eyes open, to fight the inevitability of death.
As I stared up into the light above me, it looked as though it swayed…and then it dimmed. A thought deep in my brain told me I wasn’t going to make it through this. Oh, God—I was going to die! I tried to raise my arms to fend them off, but instead my arms lay limp, next to me.
When I closed my eyes, warm liquid enveloped my back, my neck, my shoulders, and my chest. My breath came in short gasps. As I fought to retain life, their mouths released my body. Lying there, I struggled to open my eyes. I gazed up at the two men who had taken my mortal existence away from me. In their dim outlines above me, they looked like angels, but angels they were not. Blood dripped down their chins. They lowered their wrists to my mouth, lines of blood dripping down their arms and into my lips. Tristan propped me up to suck the blood from their wrists. I recognized the coppery metallic taste Wayne used to feed me. Although I should have been disgusted by it, I welcomed it, savoring every morsel. I took turns on each of their wrists, slowly regaining my energy.
A renewed energy flowed through my body. As I licked Tristan’s arm clean, Warrant whispered in my ear.
“Tristan will take care of the rest.” He stood and left the room.
Tristan tried to pull his wrist away from my mouth, but I continued to hold on, my mouth seeking his life force. I lapped up the rest of the blood on his forearm. My tongue traveled up his arm to his shoulder. I sought out his neck, his ear, and then his mouth. He responded back, clutching and pulling me in closer to him. I thought our bodies were going to merge into one. He pulled away. Not wanting him to recoil, I tried to move in closer. I halted, then lunged for him again.
“Crystal, I’m so sorry. We figured it would be best that you not know when it was coming. I’m…”
I cut him off with my mouth, our tongues seeking each other’s. I drove him backwards onto the floor and ripped his shirt apart with my hands. My fingers had elongated into claws.
He stared back at me, grabbed my wrists, and drove them down next to him. My claws connected with the wooden floor. I curled my hands inward, cutting deep scratches into it. My tongue trailed down his neck. He rolled me onto my back, and pinned me down.
He whispered, “Control, Crystal, control.”
***

“Unleash the beast in you!”

The Hybrid Unleashed (Bad Elements Book 3)

Adapting to a normal life in the immortal realm, Crystal finds her familial ties in turmoil. As Crystal’s son becomes obsessed with a string of recent deaths, his marriage to his witch wife grows weak, forcing her to turn to her sister for guidance.
Meanwhile, Crystal’s daughter, Jennifer struggles with her immortal hormonal imbalance, attracting two teenage boys, one of whom is not what he seems.
With the appearance of her ex-husband, Wayne, Crystal becomes the target of the elite immortal agency, the Underground Secret Service, its affiliates, and its primary targets, including the notorious and dangerous biker gang, The Hells Changelings—her lover’s brotherhood.
Gaining some of her memory back, she discovers secrets and uncovers the truth behind her captivity, pushing her into the primary focus of annihilation by the hunters and the hunted in this sequel to the dark and edgy novel, Bad Elements: Blood for Blood.
***
Bad Elements series: The Hybrid Unleashed – Reviews
“Riveting! A dark and engrossing read that pulls you in and rips your heart out! It leaves you begging for more!” – DM Wolfenden, Author of Double Trouble

“This book reminds of Twilight but more risqué…if that makes sense. I’m only going by the movies since I actually did hate Twilight but this book is more violent and mature than that of the Twilight movies. Be forewarned: these characters have a mouth on them. If you are offended by the description of blood or bad language and can only handle PG-related material, this book may not be for you.
I like to think of this book as being more like The Howling: a far superior movie than Twilight anyway. This is the third in the book series where the characters are trying to live a normal life but then a biker gang comes along. Pretty soon it’s pretty much an all-out war and people turning into hybrid of creatures. One person is a hybrid of werewolf, vampire, and other things. It’s pretty crazy. At one point it even reminded me of a role-playing game with werewolves, vampires, and a witch (like the magic user) and even gargoyles appearing off of tattoos.
There is a lot of cool stuff in this book and if you are a fan of Twilight, role-playing games, or even The Howling I highly suggest picking up this book. If you can get past the R-Rated material, then you are in for a ride.” –Michael S. Fields, Author of Spirits of the Darkness
***

Rapid gunfire spread throughout my living room, penetrating the walls to where my children would sleep, had they been in bed. Instead, they screamed, cried, and clung to me. My son, Robert, was ten years old, and my daughter, Jennifer, was only four. We huddled together in the corner behind the oak entertainment center.
Bullets riddled past, striking the wall to the right of us. The suppressor on the gunman’s rifle kept its noise to a minimum. Dressed in black, the gunman swept the room with his rifle. Then, he turned and pointed the gun at me and my children.
Tears flowed down my cheeks. “No!” I screamed. I squeezed my children tighter, pressing their heads against my chest.
“Please no!”
The gunman grinned. As he readied himself for another shot, my husband Wayne, rushed through the front door. His footsteps resonated throughout the house.
The gunman whipped around. As he turned the rifle on my husband Wayne grabbed the barrel, yanking the rifle and the gunman, at an inward angle, toward him, the barrel pointed at the floor. The gunman jerked forward, his finger still on the trigger.
Another succession of bullets fired into the Spanish tile floor sending pieces of the tile flying everywhere. Then another bullet struck the television and the stereo system to the left of us. Sparks shot everywhere, igniting a fire to the entertainment system.
Jennifer’s screams died down to a coughing, crying fit as Robert’s echoed throughout the room.
I was afraid to move.
My home was no longer my safe haven. It had been intruded upon, and I was scared. If I didn’t do something to help my husband, we might all lose our lives. Robert and Jennifer needed to know mom and dad were here to protect them. But, huddling here in the corner was not protecting them. I had to step up and do something even though I had no weapons in my hands.
A fight ensued between Wayne and the gunman. Wayne spun around, driving an elbow into the man’s ribcage. Snarling, he ripped the gun out of the man’s hands and tossed it to the floor. The werewolf within Wayne came forth, revealing his large canine fangs.
If we made any noise, we might attract the werewolf’s attention. That was the last thing I wanted to do, so I tried to keep the kids silent. I pressed my finger to my lips to indicate they needed to keep quiet. Robert understood. Jennifer did not. She was too young.
Wayne’s fingers transformed into claws. They dug into the man’s arm. Blood oozed out from the wounds. Then Wayne latched onto his head, his fangs penetrating the man’s skin. The gunman screamed.
“Mom…”
I clamped my hand over Jennifer’s mouth as she wriggled in my arms. The man’s cries overrode her voice. Thank God. My heartbeat raced.
“Shush,” I whispered.
To our left, the fire traveled up the walls and onto the floor. Next, it would be us. We had to get out of the house. The nearest exit was our living room window, so we crept over to it. I motioned for Robert to keep quiet as he opened the window and scrambled out of it. Tears streamed down his face.
My adrenaline sped up, my heart beating faster by the second. The werewolf was too busy with his kill to notice us.
Trembling, Robert reached through the window and grabbed his sister. Without hesitation, he covered her mouth, turned, and ran away toward our neighbor’s house.
I hesitated, contemplating grabbing the gun, or immediately following my kids. At least with the gun, I could shoot whoever attacked us.
Then two figures emerged from the shadows. They moved toward my children.
“No!” I screamed.
I grabbed the windowsill to jump out of it. Behind me, Wayne growled.
Glancing back, I cried, “Somebody’s after the kids.”
Our children screamed.
Snarling, Wayne leaped at the window. I backed away as he crashed through the glass. It shattered everywhere.
Just then the entertainment center erupted into a full blown fire. It was growing out of control. I couldn’t wait any longer. My only chance of escape was through the window, so without question, I grabbed the windowsill. Broken shards of glass penetrated my skin. Shit!
Groaning, I glanced out at my children. They struggled against the two men who fought to control them. As Wayne leaped at the man who held Jennifer, another figure emerged from the darkness. In his hand, he held a Taser.
“No!” I screamed.
An electrical current shot out, connecting with Wayne. It sent my husband into seizures as he fell to the ground.
Heads turned toward me.
Fuck!
No time to wait! I snatched up the rifle. When I spun around to aim it, an electric current shot through me. The rifle fell from my grip. As if in slow motion, I fell to the floor. Red and orange embers danced, gracefully and rapidly moving in toward me.
The back door opened, and in strode a man with dark-colored boots. Though I was unsure and fearful of who stood over me, I could do nothing about it. My body was paralyzed and before I knew it, I lost consciousness.
Awakening from a deep sleep, I bolted upright. I glanced around. My dream was a distant memory. My hair was wet and it clung to my face. When I touched my cheek I found my fingers soaked with blood. Bloody tears streaked my face.
Memories of my past were coming back.
***
I sat on the roof of our house, overlooking the forest. Though my memory was slowly coming back, I had not regained one hundred percent of it. In due time, I would remember everything including why my ex-husband Wayne held me prisoner for almost five years in an underground prison cell, and why he had forced me to fight to the death with vampires and werewolves in attendance.
I laid back, recalling my latest memory, and stared up at the night sky. Why had somebody come into our home and tried to kill us? And why couldn’t I recollect much of my life since then? I closed my eyes and tried to force the memories to come forth. But, the shooter and the fire remained a vivid visual.
My reunion with my family snuck into my head, along with the reminder of our fire loss. A small section of the house had remained untouched, that portion included my bedroom. After my disappearance, my parents moved my children to the Munds Park area near Flagstaff, Arizona. Since then, they raised my children until they passed on. Then, my children inherited the house, of which they still lived in. After being reunited with my family, I moved in.
The clouds loomed overhead. A pale face appeared above me. Tristan, my lover, stood there. Deep lines and scars, primarily the one by his eye accentuated his middle-aged face. Most who met him, on first glance, might be deceived by his hardcore biker style—but I knew him better. Tristan was trustworthy and respectful. He was a man of honor and valor, and would lay his life on the line for many, but very few, in his eyes, deserved it.
Though my children and granddaughters were cursed with the werewolf bloodline, the vampire in Tristan was still able to respect that. He had even put his life on the line for them. He was centuries old, but through those years, he had learned to control his thirst for blood and his distaste for his natural enemy, the werewolf. Had he been part of a vampire clan, he most likely would not have been able to control his appetite. Even though Tristan had built a rapport with my family, there was still some primitive vampire/werewolf tension.
As for me, I was a hybrid baby in this underworld. Three creatures lived beneath my flesh—vampire, werewolf, and another one, which had not revealed itself. Until then, it remains hidden.
I gazed up into his intense blue eyes. Then he offered his hand, of which I accepted. As I stood, he swept me up into his arms. My hair clip fell, allowing my long auburn hair to flow down my back.
Then he kissed me. The passion between us invoked the strong burning desire to bed him but it was not the time. We were hungry. Instead, it was time to hunt.
***

Describe your main characters:
Crystal Bouchard AKA “The Dragon” is an amnesiac victim, a martial artist, a prisoner in an immortal world. She is a fighter and a survivor, a lover and a killer. Crystal is a determined mother on a mission to find and protect her family. She is stubborn, headstrong, intelligent, and beautiful. Crystal has unwitting sarcasm to aid and jeopardize her situation no matter what position she’s been put in.
Robert Bouchard is a law enforcement officer with secrets of his own. He is driven to find his mother who has been missing for several years. He’s a young, married man with a “special” wife and three half-bred werewolf children.
Tristan Ayers is a “unique” individual with extraordinary talents and abilities. He’s a special agent investigating unethical practices within the vampire and werewolf communities. One of his current missions is a role as protector. He is rugged looking with handsome features and has multi-faceted characteristics.
Jace Templeton is a strong, powerful and rogue vampire with unethical practices and habits. He is always looking for a new project and relies on his associates for mundane tasks. He is very intelligent, cunning and forceful. He is very passionate about his new venture.Provide setting- time period and locations:

The book spans approximately a five-year timeframe from mid-2007 to about 2012. Some of the locations include the forests of Payson, Flagstaff, Munds Park and Prescott, Arizona. Some of the small towns and bars are located in Payson and Flagstaff, Arizona.